Political Pundits in Overdrive after Presidential Address
The political media machine was in overdrive tonight after President Bush presented his latest proposals for managing the war in Iraq. Visit MSNBC for video excerpts. Pundits were foaming at the mouth all day in anticipation of the second biggest political story of the year (the first being when Democrats took over the helm in DC earlier this month). CNN even had a clock counting down the hours and minutes until the address. Puh-lease!
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, launched a pre-emptive media strike early in the day by hosting a press conference with the Democratic leadership. The message was clear and concise. The President had not consulted with any Democrats on the proposal he would present that evening. This left the Prez in a predicament when he stated in the address that he had worked with members of Congress on the proposal. Doh!
Other observations on the address and subsequent media activity:
- President Bush was much more buttoned up for this address. Gone was the casual posture and banter. The speech was extremely tight, causing us to wonder if there is a new speech writer on board.
- The address was seemingly delivered from the Oval Office, but not from the Presidential desk like past telecasts. Bush was standing at a podium with a vista of books behind his right shoulders, and a fire place too his left. Was this a literal approach to the fire side chat? Whatever it is, clearly the White House media team is experimenting with some new ways to make the Prez seem more approachable.
- Post-address the cable TV spinmeisters were working overtime. MSNBC had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR commentators on-air simultaneously in a four-tile split screen treatment reminiscent of the opening of the Brady Bunch. We may have even seen Tim Russert give Chris Matthews a wink.
- The 2008 Presidential “hopefuls” were some of the first to book interviews and release statements in response to the address. Senator Hillary Clinton came out early in the evening with here objections, as well as Senator Barack Obama. See MSNBC for these responses.
There’s plenty more awaiting our consumption on Thursday!
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January 11th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Ha! Brady Bunch open…
NPR ran a story on Marketplace about how there’s no news in speeches anymore – it’s all out in the open before he even delivers it. I understand the tactic of making major points available beforehand if it’s a new, complex legislative proposal…but this isn’t that complex. It’s a sticky issue, but it’s not something that have a hard time understanding. So then the speech becomes more of an assessment of Bush’s delivery, which will always draw a crowd.
Arnold out there in Cali. released the details of his medical insurance program the day before his state of the state. That to me made sense. It’s a new program with sweeping proposals that needs time to marinate a bit and encourage a more informed discussion the next day.
I dunno – there’s something about big speeches today that, in general, make them less newsworthy versus the on-the-spot delivery of unexpected information. And this isn’t limited to politics. Corp execs do it frequently with analyst calls before earnings releases.
January 11th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Fabulous!!! The writer must come from a heritage of geniuses….